Puerto Rican Pioneros

July 26, 2021

Holaaaaa !! 

It was another great week here in (New) Mexico that flew by once again! 

We started off the week super strong with an incredible Zone Conference!! We have them monthly but really this one was especially spiritually powerful. Sister Weathersby talked about having an eternal perspective, making comparisons to astronomy which I always find fascinating. President shared more cowboy stories, with parallels of gathering cattle to missionary work, that ignite a fire unlike any other in the mission!! And lastly I was able to give a spur of the moment, talk on Humility which was an awesome experience as well. Overall a revelatory and really spiritually uplifting time! 

Right after zone conference we went right to help out with a neighboring stakes Youth Conference and it was an absolute blast!! They had this 'faith walk' along a hiking trail and we were able to talk to the groups of kids as they came along the path and then share a little message about helping them stay on the covenant path back towards our Heavenly Father. The youth were awesome and it was so fun to be with them! I know it really was not too long ago I was in their shoes but it honestly feels like yesterday. 

On Saturday we had a ward 24th of July activity and it was one of the funnest nights of the mission!! If you are like me, you might be wondering how big a pioneer day event would be in a ward full of Latinos, but I have learned they never miss out on a chance to party!! A few highlights were our Puerto Rican bishop telling stories about the early saints crossing the plains, and then a massive soccer game and some other activities with all the members. And without a doubt a huge highlight was our friend Nancy came and was able to meet a ton of members and some other young women her age. I can't remember if I've previously mentioned Nancy, but she's a 17 year old girl of this family we've been teaching and she is by far the most prepared to receive the gospel of those in her family. We are super excited for her as she's been diving into the Book of Mormon recently. The key to conversion without a doubt!! 

In other exciting things we actually had a huge thunderstorm and rain, always a welcomed surprise in the desert. But besides that just another busy week of missionary work! 

I'll leave you with the scripture I shared in my mini talk the other day, one of my absolute favorites of all time. As I said I spoke about the Christ-like attribute of humility. There is no greater expression of humility or love than when the Savior performed His Atoning Sacrifice, submitting to the Father's will for the salvation of all others. In Luke 22:42 Christ says "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Such a tender and powerful verse that I hope you can ponder on more throughout this week! 

I love you all so much!! Hasta luego!! 

Con amor,

Elder Jackson 

1 Zone Conference

2 Youth Conference 

3 Post soccer pic 

4 Massive Moon selfie

5 Rainbow during some morning basketball